Japanese beetles

Trailgaiter · Post by **Trailgaiter** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 7:26 pm

So everyone around here is seriously just throwing a fit about those Japanese beetles...I've seen some on my rasberries, but, knock on wood, we haven't been taken over yet....

Will they eat my bananas? Anyone ever had experience with this?? That MUST NOT HAPPEN!!! I know they ripped my friend's hostas to shreds last year, they were darn near unrecognizable... but they really did spare my yard last year for some reason. But...I'm just curious if anyone's ever seen them go after bananas. I have a couple basjoos and a maurelii. (all small)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_beetle

TerdalFarm · Post by **TerdalFarm** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 9:28 pm

Do you have chickens? If not, try them for active pest control. They turn pests into eggs. Seriously.

Trailgaiter · Post by **Trailgaiter** » Fri Jul 29, 2011 7:25 am

as a matter of fact, I do have chickens...maybe that's why I've never been hit like other people have. But mine aren't loose. The predators are terrible here. My neighbors have lost two flocks to hawks, during the day.

TerdalFarm · Post by **TerdalFarm** » Fri Jul 29, 2011 7:39 am

I gave away my flock of 70 as we prepare to sell the farm, but I had them free-range on pasture. They controlled insect pests effectively. But -- I was also "bird feeding" in that hawks took the unwary hens. Racoons took even more.

I have one rooster in my garden now and he helps.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Fri Jul 29, 2011 3:19 pm

That Wikipedia link says they attack 200 plant species

Can't say I've ever seen one.

Where are you? Ontario?

If you already own chickens...as a precaution, maybe put the plants with the chickens, or vice versa like Erik did.
Anyway I hope the beetles leave your naners alone.

one rooster in my garden now and he helps

Would a raccoon fight/kill a rooster?

Barb

Trailgaiter · Post by **Trailgaiter** » Fri Jul 29, 2011 5:22 pm

I'm in WI, didn't realize I didn't have that on my profile, so I just changed that.

I'd hate to give my chickens access to my bananas!! I already had to move one of my cannas because they were having a field day eating it up! lol

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Fri Jul 29, 2011 8:04 pm

Thanks for adding your location.

Hey, with chickens, you won't have any bugs.
Just feed them packaged chicken food before they run out of bugs.

Barb

TerdalFarm · Post by **TerdalFarm** » Fri Jul 29, 2011 8:26 pm

The hens never did real damage to Canna or banana. All over the tropics people have Gallus, Canna and Musa living happily together. Give it a try!
A good rooster will give his life for his hens. Our all-time best rooster, "sweet honey comb" (named by a little boy who liked that he could pick up the biggest rooster and bring it inside to play) was killed by a racoon but kept his hens alive one night. As for hawks, a rooster will accompany a group of hens and keep a watch for hawks while "his" hens eat. If a hawk comes near, he lets the hens know to run and he goes for cover last to draw the hawks attention to himself.
We are down to the one rooster now. He sleeps in the barn, but comes to meet me every morning and we walk through the garden at dawn. I knock grasshoppers off the bananas and palms for his breakfast.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 9:17 am

Neat story, Erik.
Funny how we become so attached to most things.

Barb

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 10:42 am

Ya know.... its funny how all the natural predator species for the beetle, are the species we detur from our yards LOL. THres a few plants they dont like, so mabey planting some of these around the ones you dont want them around will detur them? This should also help confuse them, due to diversification.

http://www.ehow.com/list_5955700_natura ... etles.html

http://www.ehow.com/way_5632021_natural ... etles.html

http://yardener.com/YardenersPlantProbl ... esNextYear (this one seemed really good)

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 420AAq67Hi

Theres tons of things online about it. Id go the plant route myself, as well as attracting as many birds as possible ( good reason for a few trees!).

**edit

Theres a very good theory out now too, that basicaly states dont do a thing to the pests, as long as there isnt major harm being done. The second you spray insecticide, you dont kill just the pests, you kill every other one around it (species wise). The pests come back faster then the predators, so you spray again, knocking the predators back even further..... You can possibly make things worse.

THis year I got to test this out. My roses inevitably attracted aphids (build it they will come right). So i got the soapy water, and sprayed it. Boom, instant reduction in bugs (almost all of them remember). I went out a few days later, i couldnt believe the amount of bugs on it now, and not just aphids spider mites now too. I reluctantly didnt do a damn thing. The top canes of the rose was covered in bugs, yet the plant showed no real ill effects. It bloomed like crazy, after we had 4 days of rain ( washing the plants washes away bugs) while the top still had some aphids a few days after and had not bloomed yet. 3 weeks after the spray, and leaving it the plant had no ill effects, they were almost non exsistant ( and hadnt noticeably spread to other plants).

Of course, if the plant is suffering, even the hippie plant books ive read suggest either treating it, or killing it (with what ever means you are comfortable with).

PalmsNorth.com

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